Dear Reader,

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this fourth issue of the rejuvenated ISfTeH Newsletter - the final issue in this first year of the restart that began with the September 2011 issue. I would like to share with you information on events that have marked our eHealth landscape over the past few months.

One is the publication of a special theme issue on eHealth of the WHO Bulletin, the world's premier public health journal. Volume 90, Number 5 appeared on May 1, 2012. It represents a significant step in the effort to mainstream eHealth in health systems the world over, and is the very first such issue of the Bulletin, dedicated entirely to eHealth. An earlier special theme issue on Bridging the Know-Do Gap in Global Health, which included sections on eHealth, was Volume 82 Number 10 published in October 2004. 

In a section of this theme issue titled "The Big picture for eHealth" leading thinkers in the field discuss how new technologies can lead to better health for all. Among the four persons interviewed was Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Chair of the Global eHealth Ambassadors Program (GeHAP) of the ISfTeH. The others were, Hamadoun Tour� secretary-general of the International Telecommunications Union, a United Nations specialized agency which aims to improve the standards of information communication technologies in underserved areas, including eHealth; Tore Godal, Special Adviser to the Norwegian Prime Minister on global health; and Ariel Pablos-M�ndez, Assistant Administrator for Global Health at the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In the "Perspectives" section I was able to share my thoughts on a framework for organizing the eHealth profession in countries, and to propose what I consider the six eHealth Grand Challenges. To delve further into the special theme issue on eHealth, visit  the World Health Organization Bulletin online. 

We look forward to many more such special theme issues focused on our field, and in between them, many more articles on eHealth in regular issues of the Bulletin. Your involvement in preparing articles for the Bulletin will go a long way to ensure continued visibility of eHealth to policy and decision makers until the next theme issue.

On May 4, 2012 the African Development Bank (AfDB) launched a competition for innovative and sustainable information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives for the health sector in Africa. The ISfTeH participated in the launch by putting out a special "blast" issue of the Newsletter, as the next regular issue would not appear until after the May 30, 2012, deadline for submissions. Thanks to this involvement, the AfDB received over one hundred applications.

The competition aims to a) document what is being done in the field of e/mHealth in Africa, b) encourage the production and sharing of evidence on eHealth solutions and c) provide an added value through the sharing of lessons learnt in e/mHealth. Click here for more information on the award.  I am privileged to co-chair the technical committee charged with evaluating the proposals and refining the process of selecting a winner of this first eHealth award of the AfDB. I look forward to many more of you participating in future editions of the award.

Finally, an event which is just round the corner is the annual meeting of the GeHAP, which will be held at the premises of the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon on June 25, 2012, with five of the six ambassadors - including the Chair - in attendance, as well as the entire Executive Committee of the ISfTeH. The meeting is expected to outline a future vision for the program and provide an opportunity to identify new partners of the GeHAP.

The GeHAP meeting will be the last key activity for the Society this summer, the next major event being the 17th Annual Conference of the ISfTeH in Abuja, Nigeria on November 7-9, 2012. The northern hemisphere summer tends to be a slower period for the Society, what with many institutions and individuals taking a well-deserved vacation around July and August. So, let me also take this opportunity to wish you all a restful summer break - one that will help you to come back in the fall reinvigorated to carry on the worthy cause of improving health locally, regionally and globally through the judicious use of information and communication technology.

Prof. S. Yunkap Kwankam

ISfTeH Executive Director

Professor Dr. Michael Nerlich

Michael Nerlich was born in Landshut, Germany, in 1953. No one then could possibly have imagined consulting a doctor over the net or video, or of being operated on by a surgeon thousands of kilometers away. During his medical studies at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, the concept of telemedicine was still unknown and it would take a while for Professor Nerlich to come into contact with it.  

Professor Michael Nerlich successfully led the ISfTeH as President from the society's relaunch in 2003, until 2011. His tenure oversaw several important milestone events in the society and in telemedicine. The ISfT was renamed the ISfTeH in 2005 in recognition of the increasing importance of eHealth. Since 2007, the ISfTeH can claim the status of an "NGO in official relation with WHO". 2008 saw the recruitment of Professor Yunkap Kwankam as Executive Director, a move which has further strengthened the ISfTeH. Annual international Med-e-Tel congresses and conferences have cemented the ISfTeH's place in the telemedicine landscape.  

eHealth is still a young discipline, but it is already impossible to imagine medicine without it. Who would have thought it possible even a few years ago, that in 2012 the ISfTeH (International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth) would include members from over 70 countries? Or that the society would be represented worldwide by ambassadors such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, musician Peter Gabriel and former President of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso?

The untiring commitment and rich technical knowledge of Professor Nerlich have helped make the ISfTeH into a professional, successful organization which has realized several effective telemedicine projects. I want to offer my sincere thanks to Professor Nerlich for his efforts and wish him all the best in his private and professional future at the University Clinic at Regensburg. I look forward to taking over the presidency of the ISfTeH and continuing his vision. And who knows how many members the ISfTeH will have in a few years from now?

Dr. Andy Fischer, President, ISfTeH

ISfTeH Meetings and Conferences

17th ISfTeH International Conference
Abuja, Nigeria
November 7 - 9, 2012

The annual ISfTeH Conference is held each Fall.

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Telemedicon '12
Coimbatore, India
Nov 29 - Dec 1, 2012 

 

Telemedicon is an initiative of the Telemedicine Society of India to increase the awareness and practice of telehealth in India. Telemedicon brings together telemedicine experts and healthcare professionals from around the world. It is truly a platform for learning and collaboration with experts in telemedicine. Today the use of telemedicine is finding wide use in our country and we expect a large number of potential users, apart from the regular users to participate in this mega event.

 

Telemedicon 12 is an opportunity for exploring the immense potential of telemedicine as it brings national and international experts and service providers together in this forum. This three day conference attracts over 500 participants from a wide spectrum of healthcare practitioners and telemedicine experts.

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 Med-e-Tel 2013

Luxembourg

April 10 - 12, 2013

For more information on these events, please visit www.isfteh.org. 

                 Corporate Member Spotlight

Health2Health

Health2Health works with supplier companies, large and small, who are either already active in the UK health market or want to enter it. For these companies we offer a variety of services ranging from a rapid assessment of their UK market entry potential, through to starting up and running their UK-based business for them. Our consultants work as part of the client team, providing highly experienced staff acting on their behalf. This gives both new entrant companies and existing suppliers a professional edge, which is often a crucial factor in determining success. Skilled staff are difficult and expensive to acquire. Having a "part time" executive can be a good solution during the start-up phase of a market entry programme. Through our network we can access and introduce, where appropriate, recognized experts in the field, including clinical, NHS executive, government policy,regulatory & compliance. Our clients are typically health IT product or service suppliers, Biotech companies, device manufacturers, generic product suppliers without in-house health sector knowledge. We have experience in both the NHS and private health provider and life sciences markets and are fully familiar with the UK regulatory and compliance requirements.

Our Approach

Rapid Assessment Studies

It is sometimes less than obvious whether a product will meet local market needs or whether the timing or political drivers are right for the client to enter a new market. We will carry out a rapid assessment that, in a few days, helps the client to answer the key questions and agree whether or not it makes sense to proceed with a strategic study and the preparation of a business plan.

Market Analysis

An in-depth knowledge of the eHealth and health informatics market throughout Europe and the US and our extensive library, allows us to complete market studies and analyses for a wide range of products rapidly and economically. Client reports typically cover market size, market characteristics and process, value for money analyses, buying motivation, trends and outlook. They identify the principal incumbents and their strengths and weaknesses. The market analysis may also include a competitive analysis, although this may also be done as a discrete study.

Product Reviews

A number of our clients have successful businesses in other market sectors in the UK, but little or no business in the healthcare market or the NHS. The NHS is unique and the determination of how to launch a new product is always challenging. The product review will compare the capability/functionality of a product to existing and projected market needs. This work can include: 

Competetitive Analysis

Health2Health keeps up-to-date with the product capabilities of most of the leading suppliers, and can rapidly supplement our knowledge when a particular competitive analysis is needed. In making these analyses we
only use information that is available in the public domain. Competitive evaluations, including comparing how different functionality can change the value analysis by the prospective purchaser, can be done readily for most health application products, including:  

 Click here to learn about Health2Health's affiliate company, HealthSystems Consulting! 

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A different Corporate Member will be spotlighted each quarter.

The first ever Telemedicine/eHealth Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to Professor Louis LARENG at Med-e-Tel 2012 in Luxembourg at the Opening Session on Wednesday, April 18th. Congratulations!

Telemedicine Society of India

To learn more about the International Telemedicine Act, please visit internationaltelemedicineact.org or contact:  

Secretariat

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The Second FMIC International Paediatrics Conference  

September 22-23, 2012

Abstracts submissions must be received by 31st July, 2012.

Publications

"Telehealth in the Developing World"

Richard Wootton, Nivritti G Patil, Richard E Scott, and Kendall Ho (Editors), Co-published by the Royal Society of Medicine Press LTD & International Development Research Centre, 2009.

The book, which is also available online (see URL below), has 28 chapters covering Policy, Education, and Clinical issues and examples about telehealth worldwide. Chapter 2 , "Bridging the digital divide: Linking health and ICT policy," gives a very clear overview of this topic. Countries discussed in other chapters include Philippines, Brazil, India, Cambodia, Italy, Neal, Ecuador, China, South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, Pakistan and Chechnya.

To view online, click here.